Spyderco Hawkbill Blades: Much Misunderstood

[JD Spydo]

I've been using one of the many Spyderco's Hawkbill blades for a "companion" blade to my main EDC for a long time now. I've owned and used just about every Hawkbill model Spyderco ever made and/or marketed. The Spyderco Hawkbills I own are mostly users therefore I don't have many collector pieces in that sector of my Spyderco collection. It's kind of perplexing to me that more people haven't discovered the great advantages that having a Hawkbill knife along with your main EDC. And they are one of the few blade Spyderco blade designs where almost everyone agrees that they really stand out in Spyderedge>> even most PE fans will agree on that one. Not to say that plain edged Hawkbills don't have their place because they do well in certain jobs.

I feel after talking to a few people here that Spyderco's great Hawkbill models are much under-appreciated and very much misunderstood. As much of a Spyderco Hawkbill fan as I am I would be the first one to tell you that I don't even recommend having one as your primary EDC. But as a backup and companion blade they really shine and give you an advantage with your main EDC. The cutting jobs that Hawkbills excel at are noteworthy and I just believe that group of great Spyderco blades are getting a bum rap and deserve a serious second look.

Once I discovered how great Hawkbill blades were for certain cutting jobs I never looked back. So please tell us why you either like them or not like them>> and if you do like them tell us why and what you use them for. Because I truly believe this group of Spyderco knives are grossly overlooked and under-appreciated and just flat out misunderstood.

[CaptainT]

SE hawkbills are the best when it comes to cut rope, it's just to grip it reverse and pull.
A PE hawkbill is great in the kitchen. I use it for peeling, scraping meat of bones and such chores.

Even people that does not like them should appreciate the fact that they DO give us an opportunity to buy more knifes. :)

[elena86]

I am a huge fan of spyderedges in general and spyderedge hawkbills in special.SE hawkbills pack a tremendous cutting power but I feel that most people stay away from them because they are afraid of what sharpening a spyderedge hawkbill involves.That brings back my old frustration for not owning a precise protocol based sharpening system for spyderedges.That being said, I often carry a SE Tasman Salt in my left back pocket

Stay sharp - Marius

[baldanthony]

As the Tasman Salt was my 1st Spyderco I ever saw, held and purchased, hawkbills will always hold a special place with me. As for practicality, it is one of the few knife configurations I feel comfortable/proficient with in my non-dominant (left) hand. In a reverse grip, it feels as natural in my left hand as most other knives feel in my right.
Also counting the Dodo, possibly my favorite knife ever, as the reverse S shape comes to a decidedly useful hawkbill-like tip. I've used my Dodos on everything not requiring a fixed blade or rust resistant knife.

[demoncase]

I
I feel after talking to a few people here that Spyderco's great Hawkbill models are much under-appreciated and very much misunderstood.

Not at Casa Demoncase they aren't....I bought a Harpy many years ago and it is my EDC when out and about on walks.
For sure, it doesn't fit the model of a 'bushcraft knife', but my idea of 'bushcraft' is staying in a hotel without WiFi

For every use I have for a knife out of doors, my Harpy has shrugged it off and asked for more.
I've since added a Merlin, a H1 Superhawk and a Tasman Salt...As well as a slew of Matriarchs and Civilians.

One very overlooked aspect of both the Hawks and their kissing-cousin the Reverse S is how useful they are for people with limited depth perception....I've been blind in my right eye since birth and for most things it barely slows me down 99 times out of a 100 (never stopped me riding a motorbike at 160mph for example), but one thing I struggle with is where an object is when it's swinging slightly or moving in a curve (like a ball for example- me and ball sports don't get on, but that's another conversation ).

The Hawkbill of my Harpy (and the many other Spyderco hawkbills I've added since) mean I've got a 'hook'- When I go to swipe at a hanging branch or webbing strap (for example) the hawkbill gives me haptic feedback and 'grabs' the thing....I can then either move it or cut it.
In these situations, for some reason, I struggle to get a 'normal' shaped blade to work and often miss what I'm swatting at, or worse, have it glance off: not a great situation.....Maybe it's down to the hawkbill feeling like my hooked, outstretched, index finger and thus it feels more natural to me.

But- some folks just will never get the appeal of the hawk, the reverse-S or indeed the straight edge wharncliffe (another favourite blade shape of mine)

Then again, many folks are still trying to come to terms with pocket knives that don't look like a SAK or Buck 110- go figure :D

[elena86]

" haptic feedback " - that's a good one :cool:

[SpyderEdgeForever]

JD Spydo great post. I have a Tasman Salt with serrated edge and I love it. It is excellent. They are so useful and have been used to save lives.

[Surfingringo]

What a hawkbill does well, it does VERY well. I don't often carry them because of their lack of versatility. As JD said though, they make a great companion blade. Personally I prefer the Reverse S like that of the lil Matriarch since I feel it is capable of doing most of what a HB does while providing more versatility.

[Evil D]

Exactly. They're a very refined tool that excels at a particular type of cutting, so I can't really carry one as my primary EDC but I've carried them as a companion blade many times. You could probably go your entire life and never use one and never know the difference, but once you have a job where a hawkbill excels and you put one to work, then you'll understand.

[twinboysdad]

If you are on the fence, get the Ladybug Hawkbill. It is an urban EDC honey badger. Packaging materials stand no chance. Also it is small enough to truly be an understudy to a PE and justifies very little pocket space. The biggest gripe with hawkbills is how wide they are folded and the LBHB negates that with its size too.

[Blerv]

Most people want knives with belly. Most my daily tasks are light draw cuts and package openings...the antithesis of blade belly.

Hawkbills and wharnies are ideal. I have a custom hawkbill in the mail right now for that reason :D.

[PiggyBackJack]

Last summer, before going on a sailing trip from Sweden to Poland, I accidentally left my Techno on the nightstand at home and I ended up with only having a Harpy and my trusted Jumpmaster with me.

Well, I used the Harpy full time as an EDC for three weeks and it completed every task with flying colors! Great knife! I liked hawkbills before but working with the Harpy for an extended period of time really made me appreciate the blade shape all the more.

I'm definitely getting another hawk in the future!

[Evil D]

If you are on the fence, get the Ladybug Hawkbill. It is an urban EDC honey badger. Packaging materials stand no chance. Also it is small enough to truly be an understudy to a PE and justifies very little pocket space. The biggest gripe with hawkbills is how wide they are folded and the LBHB negates that with its size too.

Yes. The Ladybug hawkbill Salt is pound for pound the most vicious knife you can buy IMO.

Most people want knives with belly. Most my daily tasks are light draw cuts and package openings...the antithesis of blade belly.

Hawkbills and wharnies are ideal. I have a custom hawkbill in the mail right now for that reason :D.

I'd say 9 out of 10 of the cuts I make are something being held by my left hand. For that reason, I can get away with using a hawkbill and certainly a wharnie. But, for that 1 out of 10 times when I need to cut on a cutting board etc, I'm completely at a loss with a hawkbill. That's why for me a wharnie is the magical middle ground.

Imagine having to cut a huge sandwich in half with a hawkbill lol. I'm sure it can be done, especially with the less curved hawkbills like the Superhawk, but you really need to angle the handle down to allow the tip to cut against the cutting board. Or I guess you can just pick the sandwich up and try to chop it in half if you really wanna get messy lol.

[zhyla]

Most of what I do with an EDC is open boxes. My Harpy is great for cutting the tape at the sides but makes me nervous cutting the top with the tip. A blade with belly is more natural for that for me. I don't feel like a hawkbill buys me much for package opening.

I like Hawkbills for foraging though. My previous job was on a large defense contractor campus that was largely abandoned. There were fruit trees planted here and there that were fun to harvest when I was bored.

I almost never wear two knives so I almost never carry my Harpy.

[LC Kid]

Hi Folks!


I totally agree that Hawkbill blades are way under appreciated.

Long time ago I decided to try a Hawkbill as a companion to my main EDC blade. Since then my regular combo always includes a Hawkbill. :cool:

For me, the Hawkbill being a companion means a sub 3" blade. Precisely because of that it always is SpyderEdge. In my book there's this equation:

Sub 3' Companion Blade = SpyderEdge Hawkbill :spyder:

And in this combination the Hawkbill is almost Maintenance Free. SE last forever! :D

The only Kind-of-Hawkbill design that doesn't work for me is the Dodo. And not because of the design itself, but how awkward I found it to sharpen. :rolleyes:

[bearfacedkiller]

I am a fan of wharncliffe blades as a companion blade for EDC. They are good compromise and are not as limited as hawkbills. They also don't hog pocket space like many hawkbills. I am hoping we see a sheepsfoots manbug in the Amsterdam pics. I like straight edges. :)

Now outside of EDC I absolutely love using hawkbills out in the yard and garden. They are excellent in that role for me. :D

[JD Spydo]

Hey thanks crew!! :) Those are some excellent posts particularly the ones from SURF, EVIL, and PiggyBackJack. I do particularly like Surf's comparison with the Reverse S blades and it's challenging me to try to EDC a Spyderedged Reverse S blade. I have both PE & SE Matriachs>> but I think I would rather try to EDC a pair of Lil Matriarch models maybe.

EVIL D really hit the nail on the head pointing out that until you actually use a Hawkbill and have success with it you could go your whole life and not know what your missing. And again I'm touting Hawkbills strictly as "companion" folders.

Although "PiggyBackJack" went on to say that he actually did a full EDC with a Harpy for three weeks or better and it did the job for him. It really doesn't surprise me because Spyderco knows how to make virtually any design very functional.

One last thing I would like to ask most of you are what cutting chores are you all finding Hawkbills particularly good for? Or do some of you find Reverse S blades superior? and if you do find Reverse S blades superior then please tell us what and in what ways? But again I must say you all really put forth some really good information. So don't stop now :)

[Nasgul]

Ladybug (or the futur Manbug / Dragonfly) Hawkbill is/are on my wish list :)

[JD Spydo]

I am a fan of wharncliffe blades as a companion blade for EDC. They are good compromise and are not as limited as hawkbills. They also don't hog pocket space like many hawkbills. I am hoping we see a sheepsfoots manbug in the Amsterdam pics. I like straight edges. :)

Now outside of EDC I absolutely love using hawkbills out in the yard and garden. They are excellent in that role for me. :D

BFK I'm really glad you brought up the fact that Hawkbill blades make great gardening tools. I have no doubt that a major gardening retailer like "A. M. Leonard" or some other purveyor of gardening equipment could sell a ton of Spyderco's Hawkbill blades. And I've had some serious gardeners tell me that hawkbill blades are great for a variety of gardening chores. Particularly in the area of pruning and grafting they seem to even work better than traditional gardening tools would in many instances.

Pull cutting definitely has it's advantages in many jobs that I'm sure a lot of us have simply overlooked. I truly wish someone who uses Hawkbills in fishing and marine type applications would chime in and tell us what all cutting jobs they use Hawkbill blades for.

[Blerv]

It's not a Spyderco nor a good photo but I just got this hawkbill today and figured a thread bump was in order. Eddie J Baca from Santa Fe, NM.

5.6oz, just under 3.5" blade, D2 blade, CF and bronze (I think) scales on Ti liners.